Carthage: Ancient Phoenician City-State Carthage: Ancient Phoenician City-State By Owen Jarus, Live Science Contributor | October 24, 2012 12:41pm ET MORE Founded by a seafaring people known as the Phoenicians, the ancient city of Carthage, located in modern-day Tunis in Tunisia, was a major center of trade and influence in the western Mediterranean. The city fought a series of wars against Rome that would ultimately lead to its destruction. The Phoenicians were originally based in a series of city-states that extended from southeast Turkey to modern-day Israel. They were great seafarers with a taste for exploration. Accounts survive of its navigators reaching places as far afield as Northern Europe and West Africa. They founded settlements throughout the Mediterranean during the first millennium B.C. Ruins at Carthage in Tunisia. Credit: Asta Plechaviciute shutterstock Carthage, whose Phoenician name was Qart Hadasht (new city), was one of those new settlements. It sat astride trade routes going east to west, across the Mediterranean, and north to south, between Europe and Africa.

The people spoke Punic, a form of the Phoenician language. The two main deities at Carthage were Baal Hammon and his consort, Tanit. Richard Miles writes in his book Carthage Must Be Destroyed (Penguin Group, 2010) that the word Baal means “Lord” or “Master,” and Hammon may come from a Phoenician word meaning “hot” or “burning being.” Miles notes that Baal Hammon is often depicted with a crescent moon, while Tanit, his consort, is shown with outstretched arms. The city The earliest archaeological evidence of occupation at Carthage dates to about 760 B.C. The settlement quickly grew to encompass a 25-30 hectare (61-74 acres) residential area surrounded by a necropolis (graveyard), notes Roald Docter, of Ghent University. Within a century the settlement would have city walls, harbor installations and a “Tophet,” a controversial installation in the southeast of the city that may have been used for child sacrifice (it could simply have been a special burial ground).

A great marketplace (which the Greeks called an “agora”) also developed and, in later centuries, was located by the sea, writes University of Sydney professor Dexter Hoyos in his book, The Carthaginians (Routledge, 2010). “Besides its role as a market, it would be the obvious place for magistrates to assemble the citizens for elections and lawmaking,” he writes. By 500 B.C., the city’s system of government, as suggested by the large marketplace, was a republic of sorts. Hoyos notes that the Carthaginians had two elected sufetes (the Greeks called them kings) that served along with a senate, citizen assembly and pentarchies (five-person commissions). There was also an enigmatic body called the “court of 104” that occasionally crucified defeated Carthaginian generals. As with other ancient (and to some degree modern) republics, wealthy individuals from powerful families had the advantage in getting into office. Nevertheless, the combination of trade opportunities and republican structure appears to have had some success at Carthage.

In the second century B.C., just before it was destroyed by Rome, the city boasted a population estimated at more than half a million people. As the city grew, so did its external influence, with evidence of involvement in places such as Sardinia, Spain and Sicily, entanglements that would ultimately lead to conflict with Rome. Legendary foundation It wasn’t unusual for large cities in the ancient world to have elaborate foundation myths, and Greek and Roman writers had a tale for Carthage, one set more than 2,800 years ago. According to legend, Carthage was founded by Elissa (sometimes referred to as Dido), a queen of the Phoenician city of Tyre, located in modern-day Lebanon. When her father died she and her brother Pygmalion both ascended the throne. This did not work out well, with Pygmalion eventually ordering the execution of Elissa’s husband, the priest Acherbas. Elissa, along with a small group of settlers, would leave the city, sailing nearly 1,400 miles (2,300 km) west.

The local king, a man named Iarbas, said they could build as large a settlement as could be encompassed by an ox-hide at Carthage (the settlers ended up slicing up the ox-hide really thin). Iarbas would eventually demand that Elissa marry him to which she responded by killing herself with a sword atop a funeral pyre. Archaeologists have yet to find remains of Carthage datable to the ninth century B.C., and scholars tend to regard this story as being largely mythical. The tale, moreover, comes largely from Greek and Roman sources, and it’s debatable whether Carthaginians actually believed in it themselves. Location of Carthage and Carthaginian sphere of influence prior to the First Punic War (264 B.C.) Credit: Public domain Punic Wars Rome and Carthage would fight a total of three "Punic Wars," which ultimately led to the latter’s destruction and re-founding. The two cities were not always hostile.

Before the First Punic War started in 264 B.C., they had a long history of trade, and at one point the two powers actually allied together against Pyrrhus, a king based in Epirus, which is in modern-day Albania. This is known today as the Pyrrhic War. Historians still debate the causes of the Punic Wars but the spark that lit it off happened in Sicily. Carthage had long controlled territory on the western part of the island, fighting off the Greek city of Syracuse. In 265 B.C., the Mamertines, a group of former mercenaries based in Messina, Sicily, appealed to both Carthage and Rome for help against Syracuse. They ended up getting both requests answered. Richard Miles writes that Carthage sent a small force to Messina, which was then ejected by a larger Roman force. The situation quickly escalated into open war between the two great powers. In the beginning, Carthage had naval supremacy, giving them the edge. However, the Romans built up a fleet quickly, developing a bridge-like device called a “corvus,” which made it easier for their embarked troops to storm Carthaginian ships .

The First Punic War would go on for more than 20 years and end in Carthage accepting a humiliating peace treaty that ceded Sicily along with much of their Mediterranean holdings to Rome. The Second Punic War would last from 218 to 201 B.C. and would see the Carthaginian general Hannibal, based in Spain, attack Italy directly by going through the Alps. At first his attack proved successful, taking a great deal of territory and inflicting a Roman defeat at the Battle of Cannae, in southern Italy in 216 B.C. Hannibal was, however, was unable to take Rome itself. Over the next decade, a series of Roman counterattacks in Italy, Spain and Sicily turned the tide of war against Carthage and in 204 B.C., a Roman force led by Publius Cornelius Scipio landed in Africa, defeating Hannibal at the Battle of Zama. The peace imposed on Carthage left it bereft of land and money. The Third Punic War, from 149 to 146 B.C., consisted mainly of a prolonged siege of Carthage, which ended with the city being burned.

A modern-day myth has the Romans “salting the earth” to prevent the fields of Carthage being tilled again; however, there is no ancient evidence for this. A Roman mosaic from ancient Carthage. Credit: Solodov Alexey shutterstock Roman Carthage Carthage would not be gone for long. A century later, Julius Caesar founded a new Roman city on the site and by the second century A.D., it was the largest North African city west of Egypt. Researcher Aïcha Ben Abed writes that among its features were giant “Antonine baths,” that were “the largest public baths in the Roman Empire” (from Tunisian Mosaics, 2006, Getty Publications), a sign of the city’s success. The importance of Carthage would not diminish as time went on and today Tunis, a modern-day capital of more than 2 million people, surrounds the ancient ruins. Carthage: Introduction Carthage Introduction Carthage (kärˈthĭj) [ key ], ancient city, on the northern shore of Africa, on a peninsula in the Bay of Tunis and near modern Tunis.

The Latin name, Carthago or Cartago, was derived from the Phoenician name, which meant "new city." Sections in this article: Carthage | ancient city, Tunisia | Britannica.com ancient city, Tunisia Alternative Titles: Carthago, Colonia Julia Carthago, Karchedon, Kart-hadasht Related Topics Battle of Zama Carthage, Phoenician Kart-hadasht, Latin Carthago, great city of antiquity on the north coast of Africa, now a residential suburb of the city of Tunis , Tunisia . According to tradition, Carthage was founded by the Phoenicians of Tyre in 814 bce; its Phoenician name means “new town.” The archaeological site of Carthage was added to UNESCO ’s World Heritage List in 1979. Punic and Roman ruins at Carthage, Tunisia. © Ron Gatepain (A Britannica Publishing Partner) Learn about Carthage.

Contunico © ZDF Enterprises GmbH, Mainz Overview of the rise and fall of Carthage, with a detailed discussion of Hannibal’s victories … Contunico © ZDF Enterprises GmbH, Mainz Carthage was probably not the earliest Phoenician settlement in the region; Utica may have predated it by half a century, and various traditions concerning the foundation of Carthage were current among the Greeks, who called the city Karchedon. The Roman tradition is better known, however, because of the Aeneid , which tells of the city’s foundation by the Tyrian princess Dido , who fled from her brother Pygmalion (the name of a historical king of Tyre). The inhabitants of Carthage were known to the Romans as Poeni, a derivation from the word Phoenikes (Phoenicians), from which the adjective Punic is derived. The date of the foundation of Carthage was probably exaggerated by the Carthaginians themselves, for it does not necessarily agree with the archaeological data. Nothing earlier than the last quarter of the 8th century bce has been discovered, a full century later than the traditional foundation date. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The Phoenicians selected the locations of their maritime colonies with great care, focusing on the quality of harbours and their proximity to trade routes. The site chosen for Carthage in the centre of the shore of the Gulf of Tunis was ideal; the city was built on a triangular peninsula covered with low hills and backed by the Lake of Tunis, with its safe anchorage and abundant supplies of fish. This location offered access to the Mediterranean but was shielded from many of the violent storms that afflicted other Mediterranean ports. The site of the city was well protected and easily defensible, and its proximity to the Strait of Sicily placed it at a strategic bottleneck in east-west Mediterranean trade. On the south the peninsula is connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of land. The ancient citadel, the Byrsa, was on a low hill overlooking the sea. Some of the earliest tombs have been found there, though nothing remains of Carthage’s domestic and public buildings. Ruins of the ancient baths at Carthage, Tunisia. © Peter Robinson/Fotolia Ṣaqqārah Although Punic wealth was legendary, the standard of cultural life enjoyed by the Carthaginians may have been below that of the larger cities of the Classical world.

Punic interests were turned toward commerce rather than art, and Carthage controlled much of the Western trade in the luxurious purple dye from the murex shell. Arguments about the virtual lack of Punic literature are largely moot; when the Romans sacked the city, Carthage’s libraries and archives were either given to Numidian kings or did not survive the destruction. One notable exception was the work of a Carthaginian writer named Mago , whose 28 books on agriculture were translated into Greek by Cassius Dionysius and later cited by Romans such as Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella . In Roman times Punic beds, cushions, and mattresses were regarded as luxuries, and Punic joinery and furniture were copied. Much of the revenue of Carthage came from its exploitation of the silver mines of North Africa and southern Spain , begun as early as 800 bce near Gadir (modern Cádiz, Spain ) and in the 3rd century bce near what is now Cartagena, Spain . From the middle of the 3rd century to the middle of the 2nd century bce, Carthage was engaged in a series of wars with Rome.

These wars, which are known as the Punic Wars, ended in the complete defeat of Carthage by Rome and the expansion of Roman control in the Mediterranean world. When Carthage finally fell in 146 bce, the site was plundered and burned. See also North Africa: The Carthaginian period . Ancient ruins at Carthage, Tunisia. © Veronika Vasilyuk/Fotolia Scientists Ponder Menopause in Killer Whales In 122 bce the Roman Senate entrusted Gaius Gracchus and Marcus Fulvius Flaccus with the foundation of a colony on the site of Carthage. Though the venture was largely unsuccessful, Julius Caesar later sent a number of landless citizens there, and in 29 bce Augustus centred the administration of the Roman province of Africa at the site. Thereafter it became known as Colonia Julia Carthago, and it soon grew prosperous enough to be ranked with Alexandria and Antioch . Carthage became a favourite city of the emperors, though none resided there. Of its history during the later empire , very little is known, but in the mid-3rd century, the city began to decline.

A mosaic of a boy catching birds, Carthage, Tunisia. Terry Lawrence—iStock/Thinkstock Ancient Civilizations: Fact or Fiction? From the end of the 2nd century, it had its own Christian bishop, and among its luminaries were the Church Fathers Tertullian and St. Cyprian . Throughout the 4th and 5th centuries, Carthage was troubled by the Donatist and Pelagian controversies. In 439 ce the Vandal ruler Gaiseric entered almost unopposed and plundered the city. Gelimer , the last Vandal king, was defeated at nearby Decimum by a Byzantine army under Belisarius , who entered Carthage unopposed (533 ce). After its capture by the Arabs in 705, Carthage was totally eclipsed by the new town of Tunis. Though Roman Carthage was destroyed, much of its remains can be traced, including the outline of many fortifications and an aqueduct. The former Byrsa area was adorned with a large temple dedicated to Juno , Jupiter , and Minerva , and near it stood a temple to Asclepius .

Also on the Byrsa site stood an open-air portico, from which the finest Roman sculptures at Carthage have survived. Additional remains of the Roman town include an odeum, another theatre constructed by Hadrian , an amphitheatre modeled on the Roman Colosseum , numerous baths and temples, and a circus. The remains of a Roman villa in Carthage, Tunisia. © amidala/Fotolia Carthage - Livius Carthage Carthage (Phoenician Kart hadašt, "new city"): important ancient city, close to modern Tunis. Early History The ports of Carthage, seen from the north Carthage was founded as a Phoenician colony near modern Tunis. After the fall of its mother-city Tyre in 585, Carthage became the leader of the Phoenician colonies in the west and founded an informal but powerful empire, which is known for its almost perennial struggle against the Greeks of Sicily and the Romans.

In the First Punic War (264-241; the greatest war in Antiquity), the Carthaginians lost Sicily to the Romans, and although their general Hannibal Barca tried to reverse the situation in a Second Punic War, the decline had already started. The Romans sacked Carthage in 146 after a Third Punic War, but later, they refounded the city, which again became prosperous. According to the Greek historian Timaeus of Tauromenion, Carthage was founded in 814 or 813; another author, Justin, suggested 825. For some time, these dates seemed to be contradicted by the results of excavations, which all suggested that the oldest finds were younger. However, in the late 1990s, it became clear that although the archaeologists had done their job well, their method of dating had been wrong. Essentially, all dates were derived from pottery, the sequence of which was based on the ceramics known from Sicily , where we have Thucydides ' list of dated city foundations ( text ). Although it was widely recognized that these dates were problematic, it was the best way to proceed.

In the 1990s, however, radiocarbon-dating was for the first time applied to the Early Iron Age of Carthage, and the oldest finds in Carthage can now be dated to the last quarter of the ninth century. Ivory sphinx from Carthage, made in Phoenicia The first settlers were people from Tyre in Phoenicia. According to legend ( text ), their leader was a princess named Elissa, who was forced to flee from Tyre after her brother, king Pygmalion, had killed her husband. After founding Carthage, she committed suicide to prevent a war against the native population. The story may contain some reliable information, although it is more likely that the founders of Carthage were merchants and farmers - not refugees. On the other hand, the idea that the powerful city was founded by a woman is too unusual to be a mere invention. However this may be, the settlers founded the city on a marvelous place, where it controlled trade between the eastern and western parts of the Mediterranean, and had access to good agricultural resources.

It seems that the colony was first ruled by a governor sent from Tyre, but the settlement became a city, the citizens wanted some independence, and kings started to be rulers of Carthage. For example, Esarhaddon's Prism B , written in c.675 BCE, mentions a Carthaginian king named Damusi. In the course of the sixth century, they were replaced by two annually elected supreme magistrates, the suffetes ("judges"). The Roman consulship , which is better known to us, was modelled on this office. Map of Carthage Meanwhile, the city was becoming an important trade center. Probably in the first half of the sixth century, the Carthaginian admiral Hanno founded several colonies along the coast of what is now Morocco and proceeded to the gold river Senegal, and even reached Mount Cameroon. Another explorer was Himilco , who reached the British isles. There must have been other expeditions, which are not documented in our sources. In c.575, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar captured Tyre, which now lost its independence and was no longer able to send reinforcements to Phoenician colonies if they needed them.

The settlers had to look elsewhere if they needed help, and Carthage became the leader of a more or less informal empire, based on a shared ethnic sentiment and commercial interests. It consisted of many cities, all situated on the coast. In the east and northeast, it bordered on the Greek possessions in the Cyrenaica and on Sicily; in the north, Carthage controlled the coasts of Sardinia and Corsica, and in the west, the ports of the Maghreb and Andalusia. It also controlled the gold trade from Senegal and the route to the mysterious "tin isles", which may have been everywhere along the Atlantic Coast. Punic mask Head of a bearded man Origins of Empire Tanit on a Carthaginian coin No doubt, the Carthaginian towns often had to fight against people in the hinterland. We might like to read more about, say, the Iberian wars, but unfortunately, the ancient inhabitants of Hispania did not leave many written accounts. Nor did the Carthaginians. The only place where we can see their imperialism at work, is on Sicily, where the Greeks and Carthaginians seem to have been in an almost perennial war.

We know that in the mid-sixth century, Carthage supported the Phoenician towns against Greek Selinus; that they fought against the Spartan prince Dorieus , who tried to build a city within the Carthaginian part of the island (c.510); that in 480 the Carthaginian leader Hamilcar was defeated near Himera by Gelon, the Syracusan tyrant ; that a commander named Hannibal renewed the war at the end of the fifth century and organized the Sicilian towns into one province; that a treaty was signed in 405; and that war flared up every now and then during the fourth century. We know of fighting in the years 397-392, 382-373, 368-362 (all against Dionysius I and II), 345-339 (against Timoleon; text ); and in 311-306 against Agathocles.

Because the Greeks and Carthaginians were close, an interesting document about Carthage was written by a Greek observer: in his Politics, the philosopher Aristotle of Stagira offers an analysis of the Carthaginian constitution ( text ). Tombstone of Batba'al, third century BCE. During all these wars, for which Diodorus of Sicily is our main source, Carthage was sometimes defending itself against Greek aggression, and just as often, it was the other way round. There is not a clear-cut pattern, and it would be wrong that Carthage pursued a consistent imperialistic policy, like Assyria, king Philip II of Macedonia , or Rome. On the other hand, Carthage was not a peaceful city pursuing a mercantile policy either. It was a republic and there were several factions with differing opinions and policies. In 278, war was renewed; this time, the Greeks found a champion in Pyrrhus of Epirus , who had already defeated the Romans and was now called to Sicily. He was successful, but after his victories, the Greeks refused to give him the soldiers to finish the job, and Pyrrhus went back to Italy, where he was defeated by the Romans.

He commented that Sicily would be the cockpit for the Carthaginians and Romans to fight in, and this prophecy turned out to be correct. First Punic War Map of the Carthaginian Empire (c.220 BCE) A few years after the defeat of Pyrrhus, the Romans decided to declare war after an incident in Messana. This town had been occupied by former Syracusan mercenaries, called the Mamertines . In 265, the tyrant of Syracuse , Hiero II, defeated them and laid siege to the city. Immediately, the Mamertines asked help from Carthage, which gladly intervened and sent its admiral Hannibal to defend and garrison Messana. From now on, the Carthaginians controlled the Strait. However, occupation was not the help the Mamertines had been hoping for. Rome received a call for help too, and decided to intervene, running the risk of full-scale Carthaginian intervention. But Rome could not ignore the request: from Messana, the Carthaginians threatened the Greek towns of southern Italy's, Rome's new allies. War was inevitable.

Carthaginian coin from the First Punic War: the Carthaginian goddess Tanit and the Greek mythological creature Pegasus In 264, one of the Roman consuls, Appius Claudius Caudex , invaded Sicily with two legions and captured Messana: the First Punic War had broken out. Next summer, the Romans laid siege to Acragas and captured this Carthaginian base (early 261), which had been defended by the same Hannibal who had garrisoned Messana. However, after these successes, the Roman war machine came to as standstill. The Carthaginians refused to accept Roman control of the Strait, and the Romans understood that they had to conquer the entire island. This meant that they had to gain naval superiority - something that would be very difficult, because the Romans were no sailors. It was a conflict between an elephant and a whale, which could go on forever. However, the Romans had a secret weapon, called corvus ("crow"). This was a movable bridge with a metal prong that could be dropped onto the deck of a Carthaginian ship.

Once the two ships were tied to each other, the naval battle had changed into a land battle. In other words, the Romans used their ships as platforms for fighting. In 260, at Mylae, their consul Gaius Duillius defeated admiral Hannibal, and won Rome's first naval victory ever. Yet, this victory was not decisive, and the war was to last very, very long. The Carthaginian commander Hamilcar Barca was able to defend the western part of the island; and every Roman success was balanced by either a Carthaginian victory, Roman stupidity, or bad luck (e.g., the loss of a fleet in a storm). However, the Roman consul Gaius Atilius Regulus, having overcome the Carthaginian navy at Ecnomus , invaded Africa, and although he was defeated by a Greek mercenary leader in Carthaginian service, Xanthippus, it was clear that Rome was the strongest of the two contenders. It had the resources to raise large armies and build new fleets.

The final years of the war looked like a stalemate on western Sicily, where Hamilcar Barca fought a guerilla war, but only the Romans was able to recuperate. In 241, a new Roman fleet, commanded by Gaius Lutatius Catulus, overcame the last Carthaginian ships, commanded by Hanno , near the Aegatian islands in the far west. A peace treaty was signed, and Carthage accepted Roman rule in Sicily. According to the Greek historian Polybius of Megalopolis , the First Punic War had been "the longest and most severely contested war in history".note[Polybius, World History , 1.63.4-5 .] Second Punic War Tombstone from Carthage, second century BCE. Compared to this, the Second Punic War, about which we know more, was a comparatively small war. The Carthaginian government accepted Hamilcar's proposal to compensate for the loss of Sicily by conquering Hispania. Here, he built a new empire, which was, after his death, expanded by his son-in-law Hasdrubal the Fair .

He was succeeded by Hamilcar's son Hannibal Barca , who provoked a war with Rome in 218, crossed Pyrenees , Rhône and Alps ( text ), and arrived in Italy. In several battles (e.g., Trasimene lake , Cannae), he defeated the Romans, but they refused to give up the struggle and cut off Hannibal's supply base in Hispania. At the same time, their commander Marcellus forced Hannibal's army to the south of Italy. When Hasdrubal Barca , a brother of Hannibal, tried to reinforce the Carthaginian army in Italy, he was defeated; and Publius Cornelius Scipio overcame the last resistance in Hispania. Another Barca brother, Mago , attempted to help his brother, but the Carthaginian government recalled Hannibal once Scipio had invaded Africa. Both sides had Numidian allies: Massinissa supported Rome, Syphax was allied to Carthage. The four armies met in the battle of Zama, where Scipio and Massinissa defeated Hannibal and Syphax (202). Yet, even a defeated Carthage remained an important city.

It still commanded the trade route from the eastern to the western part of the Mediterranean, and became rich again. Several Roman politicians were afraid of Carthage, and in 146, the city was destroyed by Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus. He wept when he sacked the ancient city, and displayed more virtue than the last commander of the ancient city, Hasdrubal , who is said to have betrayed the people who trusted him by arranging a private capitulation. Tombstone of Batba'al, third century BCE. Punic funerary stele Carthage, funerary stele with elephant Slingstone from the siege of 146 BCE Roman Carthage A Roman sacrificer preparing to kill an animal This was not the end, however. Although the Romans had vowed never to rebuild Carthage, Gaius Sempronius Gracchus, a Roman tribune , founded a colonia on the site in 122. At that moment, there was still too much hatred, and the project failed - more or less.

Several new citizens are recorded, but it was Julius Caesar , the dictator, who really refounded Carthage, as Colonia Junonia (44 BCE; the plan was executed after his death). Within five years, the city had been chosen as capital of the province of Africa. It was to have a splendid future. As capital of a province, Carthage had some prerogatives, but several Roman emperors ( Augustus , Hadrian , Antoninus Pius , Marcus Aurelius , Commodus , Septimius Severus ) granted additional privileges. The Thirteenth Urban Cohort was the city's garrison. The Historia Augusta mentions a great fire in the city's forum, implying that the emperor offered help to restore the city.note[Historia Augusta, Antoninus Pius 9.2 .] In the third and fourth centuries, the city was one of the most important centers - both commercially and culturally - of the Roman Empire. Although African Christianity was on more than one occasion persecuted, several important Christian authors lived in Carthage: for example, Tertullian (the first Christian author writing in Latin), Cyprian, and Donatus.

In 312, the city was recognized as capital of the African Christians (divided between the Donatists and the more orthodox believers). Carthage's most famous inhabitant in Late Antiquity was Augustine, who had a small school in Carthage (376-383) before he went to Italy and converted to Christianity. Mosaic of a dancer Carthage dictionary definition | Carthage defined LINK / CITE ADD TO WORD LIST Carthage ancient city-state in N Africa, founded (9th cent. ) by the Phoenicians near the site of modern Tunis and destroyed by the Romans in 146 (see Punic Wars): rebuilt by the Romans (44 ) & destroyed by the Arabs ( 698) Carthage An ancient city and state of northern Africa on the Bay of Tunis northeast of modern Tunis. It was founded by the Phoenicians in the ninth century BC and became the center of a maritime empire in the Mediterranean after the sixth century BC.

The city was destroyed by the Romans at the end of the Third Punic War (146 BC) but was rebuilt by Julius Caesar and later (AD 439–533) served as capital of the Vandals before its virtual annihilation by the Arabs (698). Related Forms: » more... In the succeeding century it was connected with Carthage by a great highway. It was founded (perhaps on the site of an early Sicanian settlement) by colonists from Gela about 582 B.C., and, though the lastest city of importance founded by the Greeks in Sicily, soon acquired a position second to that of Syracuse alone, owing to its favourable situation for trade with Carthage and to the fertility of its territory. It was in the latter temple that the statue of the god by Myron stood; it had probably been carried off to Carthage, was given to the temple by P. Scipio Africanus from the spoils of that city and aroused the cupidity of Verres. The date of the conquest by Carthage may perhaps be fixed at about 500-480 B.e., following the chronology of Justin Martyr (xviii.

With 15,000 mercenaries, whom he had to train into Roman discipline, he took Carthage, defeated Gelimer the Vandal king, and carried him captive, in 534, to grace the first triumph witnessed in Constantinople. Carthage - Ancient History Encyclopedia Carthage by Joshua J. Mark published on 28 April 2011 According to legend, Carthage was founded by the Phoenician Queen Elissa (better known as Dido ) sometime around 813 BCE although, actually, it rose following Alexander 's destruction of Tyre in 332 BCE. The city (in modern-day Tunisia, North Africa) was originally known as Kart-hadasht (new city) to distinguish it from the older Phoenician city of Utica nearby. The Greeks called the city Karchedon and the Romans turned this name into Carthago. Originally a small port on the coast, established only as a stop for Phoenician traders to re-supply or repair their ships, Carthage grew to become the most powerful city in the Mediterranean before the rise of Rome .

A Great Trade Centre After the fall of the great Phoenician city of Tyre to Alexander the Great in 332 BCE, those Tyrians who were able to escape fled to Carthage with whatever wealth they had. Since many whom Alexander spared were those rich enough to buy their lives, these refugees landed in the city with considerable means and established Carthage as the new centre of Phoenician trade. The Carthaginians then drove the native Africans from the area, enslaved many of them, and exacted tribute from the rest. From a small town on the coast, the city grew in size and grandeur with enormous estates covering miles of acreage. Not even one hundred years passed before Carthage was the richest city in the Mediterranean. The aristocrats lived in palaces, the less affluent in modest but attractive homes, while tribute and tariffs regularly increased the city’s wealth on top of the lucrative business in trade. The harbour was immense, with 220 docks, gleaming columns which rose around it in a half-circle, and was ornamented with Greek sculpture .

The Carthaginian trading ships sailed daily to ports all around the Mediterranean Sea while their navy, supreme in the region, kept them safe and, also, opened new territories for trade and resources through conquest . Advertisement Carthage Against Rome It was this expansion which first brought Carthage into conflict with Rome. When Rome was weaker than Carthage, she posed no threat. The Carthaginian navy had long been able to enforce the treaty which kept Rome from trading in the western Mediterranean. When Carthage took Sicily , however, Rome responded. Though they had no navy and knew nothing of fighting on the sea, Rome built 330 ships which they equipped with clever ramps and gangways (the corvus) which could be lowered onto an enemy ship and secured; thus turning a sea battle into a land battle. The First Punic War (264-241 BCE) had begun. After an initial struggle with military tactics, Rome won a series of victories and finally defeated Carthage in 241 BCE. Carthage was forced to cede Sicily to Rome and pay a heavy war indemnity.

Carthage again went to war with Rome when the general Hannibal attacked the city of Saguntum . Following this war, Carthage became embroiled in what is known as The Mercenary War (241-237 BCE) which started when the Carthaginian army of mercenaries demanded the payment Carthage owed them. This war was finally won by Carthage through the efforts of the general Hamilcar Barca . Carthage suffered greatly from both these conflicts and, when Rome occupied the Carthaginian colonies of Sardinia and Corsica, there was nothing the Carthaginians could do about it. They tried to make the best of their situation by conquering and expanding holdings in Spain but again went to war with Rome when the Carthaginian general Hannibal attacked the city of Saguntum, an ally of Rome. The Second Punic War (218-202 BCE) was fought largely in northern Italy as Hannibal invaded Italy from Spain by marching his forces over the Alps. Hannibal won every engagement against the Romans in Italy.

In 216 BCE he won his greatest victory at the Battle of Cannae but, lacking sufficient troops and supplies, could not build on his successes. He was defeated by the Roman general Scipio Africanus at the Battle of Zama, in North Africa, in 202 BCE and Carthage again sued for peace. Remove Ads Advertisement Placed, again, under a heavy war indemnity by Rome, Carthage struggled to pay their debt while also trying to fend off incursions from neighbouring Numidia. Carthage went to war against Numidia and lost. Having only recently paid off their debt to Rome, they now owed a new war debt to Numidia. Rome was not concerned with what Carthage and Numidia were involved with but did not care for the sudden revitalization of the Carthaginian army. Carthage believed that their treaty with Rome was ended when their war debt was paid; Rome disagreed.

The Romans felt that Carthage was still obliged to bend to Roman will; so much so that the Roman Senator Cato the Elder ended all of his speeches, no matter what the subject, with the phrase, “Further, I think that Carthage should be destroyed.” In 149 BCE, Rome suggested just that course of action. The Destruction of Carthage A Roman embassy to Carthage made demands to the senate which included the stipulation that Carthage be dismantled and then re-built further inland. The Carthaginians, understandably, refused to do so and the Third Punic War (149-146 BCE) began. The Roman general Scipio Aemilianus besieged Carthage for three years until it fell. After sacking the city, the Romans burned it to the ground, leaving not one stone on top of another. A modern myth has grown up that the Romans forces then sowed the ruins with salt but this story has no basis in fact. It is said that Scipio Aemilianus wept when he ordered the destruction of the city and behaved virtuously toward the survivors.

Utica now became the capital of Rome’s African provinces and Carthage lay in ruin until 122 BCE when Gaius Sepronius Gracchus, the Roman tribune , founded a small colony there. Memory of the Punic wars still being too fresh, however, the colony failed. Julius Caesar proposed and planned the re-building of Carthage and, five years after his death, Carthage rose again. Power now shifted from Utica back to Carthage and it remained an important Roman colony until the fall of the empire . Carthage, Tunisia - Travel Photos by Galen R Frysinger, Sheboygan, Wisconsin ancient city of Carthage Carthage (ancient city) (Latin Carthago) great city of antiquity, on the northern coast of Africa, near modern Tunis, Tunisia. Dido was the legendary founder and queen of Carthage; the city was probably established as a trading post toward the end of the 9th century BC by Phoenicians. Phoenician grave site The earliest artifacts unearthed by archaeologists at the site date from 800 BC.

The city was known to its Punic or Phoenician inhabitants as the "new city," probably to distinguish it from Utica, the "old city." Built on a peninsula jutting into the Gulf of Tunis, Carthage had two splendid harbors, connected by a canal. Above the harbors on a hill was the Byrsa, a walled fortress. entrance to archeological site By the subjugation of the Libyan tribes and by the annexation of older Phoenician colonies, Carthage in the 6th century BC controlled the entire North African coast from the Atlantic Ocean to the western border of Egypt, as well as Sardinia, Malta, the Balearic Islands, and part of Sicily. A Carthaginian admiral, Hanno, made a voyage along the Atlantic coast of North Africa. marker The maritime power of the Carthaginians enabled them to extend their settlements and conquests, forming a scattered empire devoted to commerce.

Among the commercial enterprises were the mining of silver and lead; the manufacture of beds and bedding; a lumber industry in the Atlas Mountains; the production of simple, cheap pottery, jewelry, and glassware for trade; and the export of wild animals from African jungles, of fruits and nuts, and of ivory and gold. what the Roman baths were Carthage produced little art. Most of the work of the Carthaginians was imitative of Egyptian, Greek, and Phoenician originals. In literature only a few technical works appeared. Thus, little is known of the everyday life of Carthage, its government, or its language. Religion in Carthage involved human sacrifice to the principal gods, Baal and Tanit, the equivalent of the Phoenician goddess Astarte. The Greek gods Demeter and Persephone and the Roman goddess Juno were adapted to later religious patterns of the Carthaginians. layout of the baths Carthage engaged in war almost continually with Greece and with Rome for 150 years.

Wars with Greece, beginning in 409 BC, concerned the control of Sicily, which lay only about 160 km (about 100 mi) from Carthage and formed a natural bridge between North Africa and Italy. Carthage first encountered defeat in Sicily in 480 BC, when the Carthaginian general Hamilcar (flourished 5th century BC) commanded a force that hoped to expand Carthaginian influence throughout Sicily, but was defeated by Gelon, the tyrant (ruler) of Syracuse. the remains Further Carthaginian attempts to conquer Sicily were thwarted by armies under the command of the Syracusan tyrants Dionysius the Younger, Dionysius the Elder, Agathocles, and Pyrrhus, king of Epirus. After their final defeat in 276 BC, the Carthaginians continued to hold territory in Sicily; 12 years later the first of the Punic Wars against Rome began. the lower level The First Punic War (264-241 BC) brought to the fore the Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca.

Defeated in Sicily, Hamilcar invaded Spain. His conquests in southern Spain were completed by his son-in-law Hasdrubal and by his son Hannibal. Carthage ceded its holdings in Sicily to Rome after the final Roman victory at the Aegates Islands. During the Second Punic War (218-201 BC), Hannibal marched eastward along the northern shore of the Mediterranean from Spain and finally crossed the Alps into Italy. Hannibal's final defeat, however, resulted in the loss of Spain and various island possessions of Carthage. statue of a Roman God In the Third Punic War (149-146 BC), the Romans under Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Africanus Numantinus destroyed the city of Carthage. In a final gesture of contempt, the Romans spread salt over the ruins. The victors thus fulfilled the wish of the Roman statesman Cato the Elder. remains of the baths lower level Occupancy of the site was forbidden for 25 years. In 122 BC a new city, Colonia Junonia, was founded; it lasted only 30 years.

In 46 BC Julius Caesar visited the site and proclaimed that a city should be built there. His wishes were fulfilled by the Roman emperor Augustus, in 29 BC, when a city called Colonia Julia Carthago was founded. This new city flourished until, according to some historians, it was second only to Rome in prosperity and administrative importance. broken granite column Roman Carthage also became a center of Christianity, being the seat of a bishop from late in the 2nd century. St. Cyprian was bishop there in 248; Tertullian, a Christian ecclesiastical writer, lived and worked in Carthage in the 3rd century; and St. Augustine was bishop of nearby Hippo in the early 5th century. underground heating chambers Carthage was fortified against barbarian attack in 425. In 439 the Vandal king Gaiseric subjugated the city. It remained the Vandal capital until 533, when the Byzantine general Belisarius captured the city, renaming it Colonia Justiniana Carthago in honor of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I.

Between 697 and 705 the city was captured by the Arabs. bird in a cage (Fragment from a Roman mosaic) In 698 it was again destroyed. A great deal of archaeological activity was carried on at the site, particularly in the late 19th century, uncovering early Punic artifacts and Roman, Byzantine, and Vandal buildings. Today Carthage is a wealthy suburb of Tunis. Text from Microsoft Encarta The Cemetery site covers 27 acres of the plateau lying between the Mediterranean and the Bay of Tunis, both of which are a mile or so distant. It is located near the site of the ancient Carthaginian city destroyed by the Romans in 146 BC and lies over part of the site of Roman Carthage. After World War 11 a survey made jointly by representatives of the Secretary of War and the American Battle Monuments Commission revealed that all of the sites of the temporary cemeteries established in North Africa during the war had major disadvantages. The present site was established ï¿½in 1948. It lies in the sector of the British First Army which liberated the Tunis area in May 1943..

Construction of the cemetery and memorial was completed in 1960. Here rest 2,841 of our Military Dead, representing 39 per cent of the burials which were originally made in North Africa and Iran. A high proportion of these gave their lives in the landings in, and occupation of Morocco and Algeria and in subsequent fighting which culminated in the liberation of Tunisia. Others died as a result of accident or sickness in these and other parts of North Africa, or while serving in the Persian Gulf Command in Iran.

Archaeological site of Carthage (Tunisia) | African World Heritage Sites Website Category: Frontiers of the Roman Empire Â Â Area: unknownÂ Criteria: (ii)Â interchange of values (iii)Â cultural tradition(vi)Â association with belief system Location and Values:Â Carthage is located on a hilly promontory overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, an ideal strategic location in north-east Tunisia, about 15 km east of Tunis.Â It was founded in 814 BC by the seafaring Phoenicians, from their base in Tyre (across the sea in present-day Lebanon), and became a highly prosperous Phoenician port city.Â The Phoenicians ruled the seas from their strategic port at Carthage for almost 800 years but â after many epic battles â the city was taken by the Roman emperor Julius Caeser in 44 BC and levelled.Â By 29 BC it became a Roman provincial capital and within 200 years had grown to become the third largest imperial city after Rome and Alexandria.Â After the fall of the Roman Empire, Carthage became the capital of the Vandals and Byzantines, before slipping

 into obscurity after the Arab conquest.

The Archaeological Site of Carthage, as it exists today, comprises a number of different locations scattered amongst the wealthy residential streets of the modern town. Overall, different components of the site are located over an area of about 2 km x 2.5 km, so exploration of the various points of interest involves a lot of walking, or use of transport.Â Â The highlights include the museum and excavation on Byrsa Hill, the Punic ports, the Punic Sanctuary of Tophet, the Roman amphitheatre, and the Antonine Baths.

Details of Slideshow: The slideshow covers three areas of the archaeological site starting at the excellent museum, where the exhibits include some stunning Roman statuary, mosaics and an artistâs impression of the Punic town and port.Â From the museum, the photo-tour proceeds to the (Roman) Antonine Baths, which were built in the middle of the 2nd century and were the third largest in the Roman Empire (they were destroyed by the Vandals in 439 AD).Â Â A couple of kilometres from the Baths is the haunting (Punic) Sanctuary of Tophet, an enclosure of stone stelae marking the graves of Carthaginian children who were sacrificed to the deities Baal Hammon and Tanit.Â The final few photographs are taken at the excavation site on Byrsa Hill.Â Slideshow of the Archaeological Site Of Carthage: Google Earth View:Â To view satellite imagery of this site on Google Earth, click here .Â This opens a new window, so when you are finished, just close the Google Earth page and you will be straight back here to continue browsing other world heritage sites around Africa.

You can learn an enormous amount from this kind of âbirdâs eye viewâ, so take a few minutes to explore the surroundings by panning in and out, and looking to left and right at high resolution.Â That way, youâll get a strong sense of âcontextâ, understanding how this place is situated within the wider contemporary landscape. Links to other places featuring the frontiers of the Roman Empire:Â Djemila Â IÂ TimgadÂ IÂ Tipaza Â IÂ Cyrene Â IÂ Leptis Magna Â IÂ Sabratha Â IÂ El Jem Â IÂ Dougga Â IÂ Volubilis Â Other Links:Â Â Â Â Official UNESCO Site Details Carthage - Tunis, Tunisia - History and Visitor Information Site information Carthage HISTORY Carthage was one of the most powerful cities of the ancient world and spawned the powerful Carthaginian Empire which dominated much of the western Mediterranean. The ruins of this famed city can be found on the outskirts of modern day Tunis. Carthage itself was central to the history of the ancient world.

Legend states that the city was founded by the Phoenician Queen Dido in the 9th Century BC and the ancient metropolis certainly rose to prominence over the next 500 years. However, three long and brutal wars with Rome, known as the Punic Wars, eventually led to the downfall and destruction of Carthage in 146BC. It is said the Romans salted the earth so nothing more could live on the site of the once-dominant city. Having destroyed the Carthaginian Empire however, the Romans later realised the potential in the strategic location of the site. In the 1st Century AD they re-founded Carthage and it grew to become one of the most important cities of the Roman Empire. As Rome’s power waned, Carthage was briefly captured by the Vandals in the 5th Century AD before Byzantine forces re-took the city. In 698AD, after many years of hard fighting, the city was finally captured by the forces of the Umayyad Caliphate who founded the new city of Tunis nearby, leaving the ancient metropolis to fade away.

Time has significantly taken its toll on the site and little remains of ancient Carthage today and much of what remains is spread over quite a broad area. The best way to begin exploring these ruins is probably by visiting Byrsa Hill and the Carthage Museum . The museum hosts a collection of Carthaginian (Punic) and Roman artifacts including marble sarcophagi and a model of Punic Carthage. Other key points of interest include the impressive Antonine Baths , the Roman Amphitheater , Roman villas and reconstructed Roman theatre of Carthage . Among the best preserved Punic remains are the Magon Quarter , Punic Port and unnerving Sanctuary of Tophet . You can explore all the sites of Carthage on our Carthage Sites Map feature and Carthage also features as one of our Top 10 Tourist Attractions in Tunisia .

Question: The site of Carthage is close to which modern city?
Answer: TUNIS